Switch/computer is the opportunity of the decade - integration of computers and telephone systems - Communications Management - Column

Communications News, May, 1992 by Paul Kirvan

If you never read another column,

< read this one carefully. It is finally

possible to establish a true link between telecomm and DP/MIS elements. Switch/computer technology is a term that describes a relationship between communications systems--PBXs and computers. The concept has been with us for a decade, but only a few, and I mean very few, organizations have tapped into the technique's full potential. Now you can do what other savvy companies

< have done. You can create revenue-producing, profit-making applications that will help your company survive the recession, while boosting your stock in the company. A typical configuration of switch/computer

< technology includes a communications switch, computer, transmission facilities, people who can make and receive phone calls, application software, and two important components: special application programming interfaces (API), plus linkages between switch and computer elements. Typical applications include incoming

< call centers, customer service and outgoing call activities like credit collection and fund-raising. Many vendors are committed to the

< technology including virtually all PBX and ACD manufacturers, most major computer manufacturers and specialized equipment manufacturers. Software manufacturers--many new to

< telecomm managers--have developed specialized applications that optimize switch-computer links offered by equipment vendors. Interexchange carriers and telcos provide the network infrastructure, and telcos are already conducting trials of switch-computer technology using centrex. Even standards groups are involved.

<

ECMA (European Computer Manufactureres Association) and ANSI have proposed standards for switch/computer technology. Traditional competitors are now partners < in this technology including AT&T and IBM, and Northern Telecom and Digital Equipment. Software developers partner with everybody. IXCs are delighted--it all means more long-distance traffic. This is one technology in which

< uniqueness for the sake of competitive advantage simply doesn't work. The number of partnerships and "strategic alliances" grows daily. Even an industry association now exists, called the Alliance of Computer-Based Telephony Application Suppliers, or ACTAS, and it's part of NATA, Washington, D.C. Where do you as a telecomm professional

< fit into this picture? You must introduce this technology to

< your company. If you don't, someone else will--bet on it. Switch/computer technology is not limited to telecommunications. Other people in the firm--say DP or MIS--can introduce it. Once that happens, your career is in jeopardy. The Pelorus Group, Raritan, N.J.,

< recently published a report entitled, "The Switch/Computer Market," which forecasted a $422.8 million market for the technology by 1997, growing at an average annual rate of 61%.

 But you have to do a few things first.

 According to Byron Battles of Aries
                   <

Group MPSG, a research firm that has published several in-depth reports on switch/computer technology, "Telecomm managers first and foremost have to understand their business thoroughly before they use the technology. Next, they must identify business applications that are most suited to the technology." Allan Sulkin, of TEQConsult Group,

< adds that the equipment selection process will be a challenge. "Even though virtually all PBX and ACD manufacturers now offer some kind of switch/computer option, the level of integration across PBX/ACDs and computers is not yet totally transparent," he says. "Users must evaluate advertised features against their needs carefully to avoid future problems." Another key issue: Is it still true that < your department rarely works with DP/MIS on anything, even when your department is part of the DP/MIS organization? If so, those walls must fall quickly.

    Get going now



  You can wait no longer.  Spend time
                   <

learning how your company makes money. Sit down with business line managers and ask question about goals and strategies. Find out how telecomm helps the company make money. Discuss it with hardware/software vendors, telcos and carriers. Speak with consultants. Call me at 800-227-7525; Byron Battles is at 301-840-0800. Reach Allan Sulkin at 201-790-5781, and The Pelorus Group is at 908-707-1121. This technology is going to be hot very

< soon. It's also going to be very affordable over the next few years. Don't be surprised to see switch/computer technology running from key systems and even LAN servers. One of the first PC-based products is called WindowPhone from AG Communications Systems, Phoenix, Ariz. Contact Curtis Steinhoff at 602-582-7094 for more details. One other important point: The future

< of this industry rests with small- to medium-sized businesses, not huge call centers. Switch/computer technology will reach commodity status by the latter part of this decade. WindowPhone is an early example of what the future could look like.